[en] 27 June 1954 saw the birth of nuclear power in the Soviet Union when a 5 MWe plant went into operation. The second reference point falls on 26 April 1986. Since then the fate of nuclear energy in the Soviet Union has been transformed once again: ft is now clear the Chernobyl did not entirely bury the notion of building nuclear p0wer stations. There are even signs that the leaders of the new states, as well as the general public, are beginning to see some of benefits of continuing with nuclear power programmes

[en] The conference of Croatian Nuclear Society 'Nuclear option in countries with small and medium electricity grid' was organized with intention to focus on and discuss the specific needs and interests of the countries with small or medium nuclear systems. In order to achieve best safety and operational standards these countries with limited human and material resources must put greater emphasis on their rational and efficient use. For these countries the world wide developments on innovative reactors' systems and improved concepts for fuel utilisation and waste disposal are substantial interest. Appropriate selections of reactor technology, fuel cycle and decommission strategies are of paramount importance. There are very successful examples of achieving safety and good operational records, so the exchange of experience and cooperation amongst that group of countries would be of great value. As in the future of nuclear energy there will be many more countries with only small or medium nuclear systems, collecting specific experience and cooperation between the like countries will be an additional value to the now prevailing equipment supplier - national utility relationships

[en] Nuclear activities have been introduced in Morocco since the early seventies. These activities concern the utilization of nuclear techniques in medicine, food and agriculture as well as training and research in nuclear physics. In 1984, Morocco decided to undertake a technical and economic feasibility study as well as the site study of the first nuclear power plant. Two years after, he decided to create the ''Centre National de l'Energie des Sciences et des Techniques Nucleaires'' as a technical and research support for the nuclear power program and as a promoting institute of nuclear techniques. Obviously, he also decided to set up a regulatory framework. (author)

[en] ANSALDO has conceived a reactor called ISIS (Inherently Safe Immersed System), an innovative light water reactor with easily understandable safety characteristics. The main targets are: passively safe behaviour, no pressurization of the Reactor Containment under accident condition, control of plant capital cost and construction schedule by virtue of the modular concept and the compact layout. The ISIS concept, described in general terms in the paper, builds up on the Density Lock concept originally proposed by ABB ATOM for the PIUS plant featuring innovative ideas derived from ANSALDO experience and based on proven technology from both LWR and LMR. (author)

[en] New safe reactor but not a first of a kind engineering is a new reactor concept to fulfill the need on Small Reactor for power generation, both for electricity and for co-generation. Nuclear reactor system of this concept in certain degree has similar design compared to the established and successful reactor systems now in operation; so the material used for the same function and purpose is not the same. The strategy or choice adopted in achieving this concept will be automatically shown by the inspiration or philosophy of ''not to re-invent the wheel.'' Based on the above mentioned strategy, a certain degree of experimental verification and justification are of course needed/necessary to know better the deviations and the differences from the existing nuclear reactor concepts and further to anticipate of course precisely engineering behaviour of the proposed concept. Physical and engineering discussion on the proposed concept are main objectives of this paper in which most of the scope and objectives of this IAEA TCM on Small Reactors with minimized Staffing and/or Remote Monitoring are elaborated. They are discussed in such a way to give the technical and economical background of the proposed concept. (author)

[en] The paper describes the conceptual design of an integrated advanced safety nuclear reactor unit for a low capacity floating, NPP designed for power supply in areas which are remote with difficult access. The paper describes the major structural and lay-out components of the steam generator and reactor units with main technical characteristics. (author)

[en] The results of the investigation of steam-zirconium reaction kinetics at the HPE simulator surface are presented in the paper. The dynamic characteristics of the hydrogen production resulted from the heated surface dryout are determined. (author)

[en] Stressing that an effectively implemented quality assurance programme (QAP), governing all aspects of a nuclear power project, is an essential management tool, the author points out that new challenges today are demanding that QAPs and their management be improved. In his article he discusses the recent developments in the field and the IAEA's role in assisting countries to achieve high levels of quality in the nuclear industry

[en] The Background Paper describes fundamental principles for the safe use of nuclear power. The defence in depth concept is aimed at prevention of accidents. It is assumed that component, system and human failures are possible and designers incorporate engineering safety features to counteract such failures. Accident management strategies and effective off-site emergency plans are also developed to deal with accidents, which have a potential for major radiological consequences. The assessment of the safety of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is provided through the application of probabilistic safety assessment, permitting assessment of the probability of a whole range of consequences of mishaps. The through-life safety of NPP requires the application of a well developed safety culture, where the personal dedication and accountability of all individuals involved with nuclear installations provide the means to ensure safety. The responsibilities of governments, regulatory agencies, operators and advisory bodies must also be clearly defined and all parties must accept their responsibilities. The independent assessment and monitoring of operational experience form an essential part of the process of verification of safety. A comprehensive set of tools has been developed to make nuclear energy a safe technology. International collaboration needs to be strengthened to expand the areas of common understanding and resolve remaining problems

[en] The principal benefit in using level 1 PSAs to increase insights and to support decisions concerning reactor safety is to take advantage of the power of PSAs to give a comprehensive, realistic and balanced picture of reactor safety without becoming vulnerable to misconceptions arising from the many substantial uncertainties involved. The fact that PSAs provide a mechanism for displaying the causes and magnitudes of uncertainties (more so than do conventional deterministic analyses) is actually the strength of PSA rather than evidence of a weakness of the PSA methodology, because it can provide additional qualitative and quantitative perspectives on the overall importance of uncertainties. The most valuable products of PSA are the insights gained and the actions taken to address those insights. Additionally, the results are considered to be of importance in assessing the significance of safety issues, and to support and promote allocation of resources to the resolution of these issues. (orig.)